Surgeries, admissions hit as Rohtak PGI nurses begin indefinite strike

Sunit Dhawan

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Tribune News Service

Rohtak, August 8

The elective surgeries and admissions of patients at the Rohtak PGIMS had to be stopped as nursing officers and senior nursing officers working at the institute proceeded on an indefinite strike today.

“No elective surgeries are being done as of now. Patients requiring admission to indoor wards for treatment are also being turned away due to the strike,” said sources.

The sources maintained that more than 1,000 nurses, including nursing officers and senior nursing officers, have proceeded on strike.

Contacted for his comments, the PGIMS Director, Dr SS Lohchab, admitted that elective surgeries and admissions had to be stopped due to strike by nurses, though he asserted that emergency surgeries were being done and critical patients admitted to the ICUs.

He said 92 nursing officers and 24 senior nursing officers, who were on a probation period, were discharging their duties.

“Students of the MSc and the BSc (Nursing), MPharma and BPharma courses have also been deployed to provide the requisite care to patients,” said Dr Lohchab.

He said the state government had been apprised of nurses’ demands as well as the prevailing situation and the matter was under consideration of the authorities concerned.

“A monitoring committee headed by the PGIMS Medical Superintendent has also been constituted to keep a close watch on the situation,” the director said.

He maintained that patient-care should be the top priority for the healthcare staff, while their concerns could be addressed through a continuous dialogue.

The nurses, who started their agitation last week, first took a mass casual leave last Friday, then worked in a single shift for three days and took a mass casual leave again on Wednesday.

Representatives of the nurses were called for a meeting with the authorities of Pt Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences (UHSR), Rohtak, as well as the Rohtak PGIMS yesterday.

However, the meeting remained unfruitful, following which the nurses’ association decided to intensify the stir.

“Hence, we have started an indefinite strike with effect from today. It will continue till our demands are met,” said Vikas Phogat, the president of the PGIMS Nurses’ Association.

The major demand of nurses is to increase the nursing allowance from Rs 1,200 to Rs 7,200 on the pattern of the AIIMS, New Delhi, and the PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Questioned about the suffering and plight of patients due to their strike, Phogat said proceeding on strike was the last resort for them. Phogat said they were compelled to go on the strike as their voice was not being heard for several years.

“We had informed the state government, the UHSR authorities and the PGIMS administration about our move well in advance. If any untoward incident happens now, it would be their responsibility,” he said.